Trader Joe's Throw-Together

I love Trader Joe's. I know I'm lucky to live near one. I was shopping there yesterday and they were handing out samples of a chicken chili recipe made with all Trader Joe's products. I had a taste and was immediately sold. We had it for supper tonight.


Here's the recipe. It doesn't get much easier than this. In fact, I don't think I can even call this cooking.

1 jar Trader Joe's Fire-roasted Yellow & Red Peppers
1 jar Trader Joe's Salsa Verde
1 can Trader Joe's White Kidney Beans
1 can Trader Joe's Premium White Chunk Chicken



Put it all in a pot, stir, and warm thoroughly. That's it.

I was worried this would not be enough food for my crew. So I added another can of chicken and another can of beans. I didn't have any more white kidney beans so I used black beans. Then I tossed in a little extra chili powder.


We had a salad on the side and some saltine crackers. Yum! It was a great dish for a cold winter's night. It cost a little more to make than a pot of beef chili, which costs about $5. But it was a welcome change of pace and cheaper than making chicken breasts or the like for everyone. You could easily substitute the Trader Joe's ingredients with other brands.

Next time I think I'll try doing what we do with black bean soup and garnish with onions and/or sour cream. Time to go back to TJ's and stock up on more ingredients!

Quick and Easy Lunch

If you're like me, you don't want to spend much time on lunch, whether to think about it, prepare it, or eat it. As a result, the midday repast can quickly become tiresome in its predictability. So it's nice to find a dish that is not only tasty but cheap, easy and fast. That's what I found last week when I was visiting my friend Elephant's Child. For lunch she served us a simple rice and bean dish that was a welcome change from cold sandwiches. Wow, imagine that! Hot food for lunch! It hit the spot on a cold day, so much so that I have made it several more times this past week. Here's how I did it (which is probably not exactly how Elephant's Child made hers):

Cook one bag of Success rice according to package directions.
Mix in one can of black beans and one can of Rotel-style tomatoes and green chilies. Warm through.
Serve alone or on soft tortillas, garnished with your choice of cheese, sour cream, onions, and/or lettuce.

That's it. You can throw it together in about 15 minutes. The rice and beans cost less than $2 to make: the rice was 50 cents (one bag out of a box of four for $2), and the beans and tomatoes were each about 60 cents. Add the cost of tortillas and garnish, and you're talking $3 (at the most) for a 3 or 4-person meal.

We sometimes make bean and cheese quesadillas for lunch, but in my opinion this is so much better and more substantial. Thanks, Elephant's Child!